Promises

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8
"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Matthew 21:22
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Mark 11:24
"Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
John 14:13-14
"In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
John 16:23-24
"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17:20
"And Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.'"
Mark 11:22-24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father."
John 14:12

Specific Promises

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up."
James 5:14-15
"Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
Matthew 18:19-20
"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:31-33

Clinical Studies

Clinical studies have found no statistically significant effect of intercessory prayer on medical outcomes:

  • The STEP Project (Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer) examined 1,802 coronary bypass patients and found no effect of prayer on complications or recovery
  • A Cochrane review of 10 studies involving 7,646 patients found no overall effect of intercessory prayer on health outcomes

Responses

  • "God's timing may not be your timing."

    This response suggests that when a prayer isn't answered, it just means God hasn't done it yet. While this might offer some hope, it also makes the original promise impossible to disprove – any amount of waiting can just be called 'God's timing'. It's an unfalsifiable claim.

  • "God's will may not be your will."

    This common answer claims that God doesn't answer some prayers because they don't fit His 'bigger plan', even if the prayer is for something good like healing. Believers might point to verses like 1 John 5:14-15, but this adds a condition ('if it's God's will') that Jesus often didn't include when he made straightforward promises about getting what you ask for.

The "Yes, No, or Wait" Problem

Many Christians explain unanswered prayers using the framework that God always answers prayer with "Yes," "No," or "Wait." While this might sound reasonable, it creates a major problem: it makes prayer impossible to falsify.

The Milk Jug Test

Imagine I start praying to a milk jug in my refrigerator using the same framework:

  • If something good happens after I pray → The milk jug said "Yes"
  • If something bad happens → The milk jug said "No" for my own good
  • If nothing happens → The milk jug said "Wait"

Using this logic, I could claim the milk jug answers 100% of my prayers, just I used to believe about God.

This is an "unfalsifiable" claim - no matter what happens, it can be explained away. A claim that can never be proven wrong isn't actually an explanation of anything.

Conclusion

The Bible makes clear, unambiguous promises about prayer being answered. Both my experience and outside studies show no evidence that intercessory prayer affects the desired outcome.